Born in Port-au-Prince on October 14, 1961, Rafaelle Castera made her first steps in the world of photography after watching her grandfather, Edouard Peloux, a famed haitian photographer known for his large format pictures taken over a period of fifty years, and his work in the dark room.

She participated in training sessions and workshops and served as a technician at Dominique Franck Simon’s Teknicouleur laboratory for thirteen years. She later opened her own studio and managed it for nine years. from 2004 to 2008, she has worked as Visual Communication Director for the Haitian Ministry of Tourism and currently also works a freelance photographer who covers special events.

Rafaelle Castera has published collections of postcards on Haiti from 1991 to 2006, has showcased her work at Galerie Marassa, ISPAN, Cap Haitian and in 2006 participated at the International Tourism Expo in Montreal. In 2007, she completed for the IHSI institute a photographic documentation of Haiti’s ten departments. in October 2009, she participated in a photo safari in Nevada with professional photographers and experts in nature photography, sponsored by the San Diego Natural History Museum / California and in April 2011 took part in a workshop at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington D.C., USA.

“FOCUS” Is the third publication containing her photographic work. In 2007, she published her first book: “Imagine Ayiti: Haiti through the lenses of Rafaelle Castera” and in 2009 a second book: “Couleurs Ayiti” was published.

A graduate with honors from Western Illinois University in the field of graphic design and industrial technology, Karine Rocourt has also taken university level photography classes and has always practiced her art as a hobby. She is specialized in the treatment and recovery of old photos and documents.

A freelance photographer, she has worked in a photo lab during her university years and later in Miami, Florida where she rejoined the family business in the preparation and printing of advertising specialties/promotional items, conception and implementation of advertising campaigns, set up and design of a bi-monthly magazine that was free to the public and for which she was responsible for the photographic coverage and photo montage.

In 2008, her pictures were published in “Monuments à la Liberté”, a book on the monuments at the historical park of Cap Haitien, Haiti. For that project, she worked together with Rafaelle Castera, a Haitian well known photographer. She participated in 2009 in a Nature Photo Safari in Sierra Nevada with experts from the San Diego Museum of Natural History. Her shots were also published in “La Citadelle Henry”, a coffee table book on one of the world wonders that sit atop a mountain in Haiti. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, she has attended a seminar in photography with National Geographic and intense training sessions in photographic techniques with Scott Kelby, the renowned Photoshop guru and his team of professionals.

Imagine Ayiti is a company established in Miami, Florida for the purpose of displaying the Works of well known haitian photographer, Rafaelle Castera, whose photographs of Haiti display that country’s colorful beauty and raw nature, its people and original scenery. The works of Karine Rocourt, who is also a photographer and the company’s graphic designer are also managed by Imagine Ayiti.

Apart from displaying and selling photos to be used for marketing campaigns, illustrations or simply framed for wall art décorations, Imagine Ayiti offers Professional photographic coverage of events, weddings or special projects.

Rafaelle Castera, Karine Rocourt and Ghislaine Rocourt-Deeb are the founding members of Imagine Ayiti, Inc. with company headquarters located in Miami, Florida (USA). Both Rafaelle and Karine reside in Haiti.